27 May 2026 / By David Ferguson
Borders driver Robbie Wood took his rallying education to the next level at the weekend as he moved to tarmac for the first in the Borders Competitions Jim Clark Rally.
The 21-year-old, who only stepped into a rally car seriously last year, achieved exactly what he set out to in the first stages of Friday night as he and co-driver Steven Brown got to grips with his new Peugeot 208 and sped through their first experience of closed public roads and driving in the dark.
Onto Saturday and they upped the pace in the afternoon to take close to 30 seconds off their morning loop of Polwarth, Blackadder and Manderston which brought them an excellent finish off 44th overall, having started seeded 66, sixth in class and fifth British Junior.
‘Disappointing end but lots of positives’
The adventure continued into Sunday as one of the 114 crews competing in the Reivers Rally. The second stage, around the picturesque Scott’s View, took them past Robbie’s house – literally, within ten feet of the front step.
However, after a fast first loop of the stages and the “weird feeling” of passing his front door, just as Robbie was beginning to put the class leader he came unstuck on the bumpy Westruther stage second time around, spun and rolled into a field – bringing his Reivers debut to a premature end.
He said: “It is a very disappointing way to end what was otherwise a great weekend.
“I was really happy with our pace, as we were building confidence on the tarmac and getting quicker all the time, but unfortunately the car got unsettled on bumps in Westruther on the afternoon loop, the rear end just stepped out, caught the grass and had a wee roll over a whin bush.
“So, yeah, very disappointed not to finish the Reivers Rally but looking back on the weekend it’s been great learning for me and Steven on our first ‘Jim Clark’ and my first tarmac rally.
“Tar’s a total different animal to the gravel forest stages – one minute you’ve got all the grip in the world, and the next second you’re on a bit of grass and it’s gone! As with all motorsport it’s fine lines, but there are a lot of positives to take from the weekend.”
As for his plans for the remainder of this year’s Scottish Rally Championship, he added: “The car now has a little ‘remodelling’ work ahead, but we’ll get that done and then we’ll see how it’s going.
“We are definitely aiming to get back out for the Scottish Rally and the Grampian, but will see how the car is before we make a decision on the Argyll.”
